| The University of The Bahamas | |
| Motto: | Knowledge, Truth, Integrity[1] |
| Established: | 1974 |
| Type: | Public |
| President: | Dr. Rodney Smith |
| City: | Nassau |
| State: | New Providence |
| Country: | Bahamas |
| Students: | 8722 |
| Faculty: | 294 |
| Campus: | Urban |
| Free Label: | Sports teams |
| Free: | Mingoes |
| Website: | http://www.ub.edu.bs/ |
The University of The Bahamas (UB) is the national public institution of higher education in the Commonwealth of The Bahamas with campuses throughout the archipelago. The main campus is located in the capital city of Nassau, on the island of New Providence.
After more than thirty-five years of serving The Bahamas, first as a two-year institution, then as a four-year degree-granting College, the University of The Bahamas was chartered on November 10, 2016.
The University of The Bahamas has about 5,000 students and over 12,000 alumni. It is one of the largest employers in The Bahamas, employing 700 faculty and staff. Seventy-six percent of the over 300 faculty (261 full-time and 96 part-time) are Bahamian.
The College of The Bahamas (COB) was the precursor to the University of The Bahamas. COB was established in 1974 by an act of the Parliament of The Bahamas, the College of the Bahamas (COB) was created through the merger of:
The college has three academic campuses and several teaching and academic research centres throughout The Bahamas. The Oakes Field and Grosvenor Close Campus, housing the Division of Nursing and Health Sciences, are both in Nassau. The Northern Campus is near Freeport on Grand Bahama.
The Northern Campus opened in 2011 as part of a planned university community 10 kilometers east of Port Lucaya and 15 kilometers east of Freeport. Operating initially with only the first two buildings, the campus will feature classrooms, faculty offices, library, computer and science labs, bookstore, cafeteria, conference room and administrative offices. Future development includes signature buildings, student and faculty housing, specialized instructional, academic and office spaces, commercial and dining spaces and athletic facilities.
New facilities on New Providence are planned for:
Satellite campuses serve students throughout the archipelago in Abaco, Andros, Exuma and San Salvador.
The college opened an agricultural location in Andros in 2014.[2]
The University's academic and outreach centres include:
Research Centers include:
Opened in 2011, the 60000square feet Harry C. Moore Library includes the law library, a 24-hour-a-day computer commons, auditorium, classrooms, media production studio, individual and group study spaces, institutional archives and exhibition spaces. The historical archives will serve as the de facto national library of The Bahamas, including the personal papers of Bahamian prime ministers. The library is named for American born Bahamian philanthropist Harry C. Moore (1913-2003).[5]
The university is governed by the Council of the University of The Bahamas,[6] chaired by Alfred Sears.[7] The day-to-day operations are overseen by the president, who is appointed by the Council.
Key administrative personnel include:[8]
The University of The Bahamas typically appoints presidents to three-year terms and has had eight presidents in fifteen years.
Some of the members of the University of Bahama's Administration and Board of Trustees, which are in entrusted with the care of the management of university affairs, have a “chequered” past.[12] Former President, Rodney Smith, was fired from the same institution in 2005 for using “another academic's material without attribution” (plagiarism) during a student Convocation. This 2005 incident of Smith's was so shocking that the then-Chairman of the Council Franklyn Wilson said that it would be a “significant error for the country” if Smith was reappointed during an institutional presidential search in 2014. One of the defenders of Smith's reappointment, former Bahamian Supreme Court Justice and current member of the Board of Trustees Ruby Nottage, claimed that the appointment process was transparent, open to public inquiry, and impartial.[13] However, Ruby Nottage herself is not free from controversy. In 1986, she and her husband were indicted by a Boston grand jury of money laundering for a notorious Boston gangster.
The university offers certificates and diplomas as well as associate, baccalaureate and master's degrees for 66 majors and serves over 5,000 students. In 2011, 66 percent of the graduates earned baccalaureate degrees, reflecting the change in student demand and the emergence of institution from college to university. Over 80% of entering students enroll in baccalaureate and masters programs. Pharmacy, law and other advanced professional degree programs are offered in partnership with Caribbean and U.S. universities.
UB offers degrees through eight academic units, including an institute and seven schools. Six of the schools are organized into faculties (equivalent to colleges in U.S. universities) headed by an academic dean.
The Academic Faculties (equivalent to Colleges) and their related schools are:
See main article: UB Mingoes. The Mingoes, as the University's athletes are known, compete nationally and internationally.